Case Studies
Sandy
Sandy came into our program for alcoholism with a lot of anxiety. Biochemical testing revealed Sandy had deficiencies in many key chemicals including B6 and zinc, often implicated in an anxiety disorder called pyroluria. Using her CES unit in conjunction with specific biochemical repair, Sandy gradually showed signs of stabilizing; however, in her third week, a business emergency made it necessary for her to fly home for the weekend. Sandy confided in me that she always had a fear of flying and was feeling very anxious about going. She recalled past flights tightly gripping the sides of her seat, frozen in a cold sweat. I suggested she dose herself with a special blend of calming amino acids we call Bio-Alpha Waves and wear her CES unit during the flight. When she returned she told me she tried my suggestion; her flight had gone very well, in fact, she slept through most of it!
Bob’s Wife (Panic Attacks)
Bob came to HRC for alcoholism. Although he acknowledged the importance of biochemical repair to recover from his addiction, his attitude toward CES was that of a skeptic. After presenting him with studies, films, and testimonials from other clients, his opinion remained unchanged.
One night as he and his wife were watching television, he noticed her going into a panic attack, an event he had seen before. He knew there was nothing he could do, but let it play out. He also knew these attacks could last up to an hour or longer and left her in an exhausted, debilitated state ranging from several hours to several days. All of a sudden he got an idea. He grabbed his CES unit and hooked her up. Within 10 minutes the attack ended and she was back to normal watching the TV program with him. From that day on Bob had nothing but praise for CES.
Insomnia
Reestablishing a normal sleep pattern is a significant milestone on a client’s road to recovery. Many different factors influence when that will occur: age, lifestyle, drug of choice, pattern of use, state of health, etc.
Many studies have been compiled confirming the effectiveness of using low current electrical stimulation to help promote sleep. Many studies have also been done confirming specific biochemical interventions to help normalize sleep. HRC can add to these observations since we use both protocols, simultaneously.
Before CES came to HRC, we addressed insomnia by prescribing a variety of natural chemicals: the hormone, melatonin; calming amino acids GABA, Ltryptophan, and taurine; a unique product called Bio-GH Releasers, which helped to stimulate the production of human growth hormone to stimulate a deep restful sleep; the mineral magnesium, often depleted to alarmingly low levels in chronic alcoholics.
Weekly check-ins done in a group setting allows clients to update how well they are sleeping. After CES became part of the standard HRC treatment protocol turn-around time for normalizing sleep was faster. Some generalities can be stated about different addicts. Those who abuse drugs that rob excitatory neurotransmitters (cocaine, amphetamines) generally have no problem sleeping, although, staying awake has sometimes been a problem.
Many alcoholics come to rely on a drink to knock them out. Once they become abstinent, sleep becomes a problem, sometimes lasting for several weeks. Using CES, they generally normalize their sleep in two days to a week. The most difficult people to return to normal sleep patterns are those getting off prescription drugs: anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic, and sedative drugs in particular.
Without CES, normal sleep patterns can elude these people for months. Because it is often necessary to wean off these potent drugs, it takes more time before sleep normalizes for them; however, with CES and specific biochemical repair, most return to normal sleep within three weeks.
Pain
Using electrical stimulation in the form of TENS units (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) to address chronic pain has become a well-accepted medical approach. It turns out CES units may work equally as well or better in some cases.
Jeff
Jeff came to our program addicted to the synthetic opiate Oxycontin. His dependence grew from prescriptions written for the chronic pain he endured following a car accident that severely disfigured his face. Reconstructive surgery was slowly putting him back together again but the pain remained. Never theless, Jeff did not like being owned by a drug and was determined to get free. Jeff was a likeable guy, he never showed any bitterness about the hand life dealt him; he had a great sense of humor that allowed him to make fun of himself in a way that made people like him. The first time he got hooked up to the HealthPax unit, his eyes lit up and a broad smile came to his face. It was obvious he liked it.
From that point on, every time I passed him in the hall, saw him in the nurses’ office, saw him in a group, Jeff was wearing that unit.
Jeff was able to wean down very quickly from the Oxycontin, but that wasn’t what impressed him. After many months of drugging himself daily in order to function without intense pain, he had found a non-addictive, inexpensive, electrical solution that effectively provided relief from the physical pain better than the drug!
Betty
Betty came to us for her alcohol addiction. In addition she wore a tourniquet around her wrist to isolate a painful carpal tunnel injury. Using electrical stimulation with electrodes placed near the injured area, a relief in pain was reported immediately. Biochemical intervention prescribed to address this problem included mega-dosing with B vitamins, particularly B6. Within a three weeks, the tourniquet was gone and she was using both hands, pain free again.
Cognitive Function
When orientating new client to the benefits of CES, I always save the loss of cognitive function for last. For some, the subject recalls a sense of hopelessness that the damage they’ve done to their brains is irreversible. For others, the subject does not hold great concern. Often they’re too young to have done damage on a level that impairs their ability to function; however, when I mention “loss of short-term memory,” they sheepishly smile with an expression of affirmation.
The brain has been and continues to be a misunderstood organ. Not many years ago, those entering treatment were told alcohol kills thousands of brain cells every time a drink is enjoyed. Once gone, brain cells cannot be restored, the brain shrinks, and over time full blown Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome results. Recent discoveries on the workings of the brain have helped scientists understand how it functions. It is now known that neuronal damage in the brain is not permanent in all cases, if at all. In fact, while doing studies of CES to measure its effectiveness in reducing anxiety, scientists were startled to see subjects in different stages of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome showed improvements in cognitive function.
Why this occurred was not well understood at the time; however, recent research elucidated an explanation. The brain is composed of a complex network of brain cells (neurons), communicating with each other using chemicals called neurotransmitters. Brain cells are unique in their structure in that they have tentacles extending out of them that send and receive these transmitters. A sending tentacle is called an axon; a receiving tentacle is called a dendrite.
Neurotransmitters flow back and forth between axons and dendrites in a space called the synaptic gap. The more complex the network of neural communication, the faster the brain’s ability to recall information becomes. Speed of recalling information is directly proportionate to IQ. In short, the more complex the network of neural connections, the more intelligent the person.
When chronic alcoholism occurs, brain cells do not die, as once thought. Rather, the axons shrivel up. In other words, communication lines between brain cells go down and the complexity of the brain begins to deteriorate. This effect is not only associated with alcoholism, the same loss of neuronal connections affecting cognitive function is demonstrated when trauma to the brain can occur from an accident. Until neuronal connections are restored, cognitive function will be impaired.
Given time, Mother Nature will re-grow axons, reestablish neural connections and restore cognitive function. Scientists have detected the healing process begins with the concentration of electrical activity to the injured area(s). Because it takes up to two years for the process to occur under ideal conditions (strict alcohol abstinence), it’s easy to understand why the treatment industry says alcohol induced brain damage is permanent. Less than 25% of alcoholics are able to remain abstinent for even 1 year following traditional treatment methods of psychological counseling only.
But CES changes the healing timetable. It turns out supplementing low level electrical stimulation actually boosts the body’s own endogenous electrical output resulting in accelerated healing. Using CES, what would normally take two years can be accomplished in a matter of a few weeks. Over the years I have observed the worse off a client is to start, the more dramatic the restoration, transformation will be.
From a biochemical standpoint there are many products HRC recommends to enhance memory and sharpen cognitive function. Some of these products overlap with supplements used in other formulas such as phosphatidylserine and Gingko Biloba used in the high cortisol formula. (Remember high cortisol has also been implicated in shrinking the brain.)
Again, as in so many other formulas, supplying the body with the raw material it requires to restore biochemical balance is greatly enhanced by CES assisting in the energetic functions required to reload and fire these key chemicals.
Raymond
Ray was in his mid thirties when he came to HRC. Although by his own admission alcohol was his greatest problem, he had used marijuana since his early teens, cocaine since his mid twenties and he chewed tobacco. He came from a family of high achievers with four other brothers who had become doctors. Ray’s talents however, lay in other areas: singing and entertaining. It was easy to see why he was in high demand at parties; he was an outgoing, fun guy.
Many of Ray’s personal problems within family relationships stemmed from cognitive shortcomings which caused misunderstandings among other “high achieving” family members. I’m not saying Ray was stupid, on the contrary, in many areas he was extremely bright, however, the way he interpreted the meaning of phrases was sometimes different from the way they were intended.
During the first few weeks it was often necessary to explain things over several times and in different ways before Ray grasped what he was being told. Once understood, he always made a sincere effort to stay true to the program. HRC’s program does ask for many changes to be made; for some it may seem a bit overwhelming. By the end of his first week Ray reported he was doing everything but he was forgetting to use the CES unit. Although his cravings had subsided, he was still depressed, and having trouble getting out of bed. By his second week, Ray reported that he was using CES every evening for two hours and he was “feeling better.”
Many of the supplements Ray began to take were aimed at improving cognitive function: the high cortisol formula (DHEA, phosphatidylserine, Pantothenic acid, Gingko Biloba and Siberian Ginseng), and a proprietary formula of amino acids called Bio-GH Releasers (Glutamine, Arginine, Ornithine, Lysine).
One week later, Ray reported he enjoyed wearing the CES unit when reading. He noticed he read faster and retained more with CES (a benefit reported by many). In addition he had more energy, felt less depressed and was sleeping well. Counselors reported Randy appeared to be tracking better—he understood what was being told to him faster without needing to have things repeated.
By the fourth and fifth week of his program, by his own admission Ray reported his “thinking patterns have improved.” Energy levels were still increasing, and depression was gone. During his final week, Ray gave up the Chewing tobacco. His recovery was successful in every way.
CES may be thought of as a branch technology of vibrational medicine while the foundation of Health Recovery Center is in orthomolecular medicine. At first it may seem strange that two completely different healing approaches could complement each other so well, but since its introduction as a mainstream protocol at Health Recovery Center, we have come to understand CES as an energetic extension of orthomolecular medicine.
Since HRC began using CES, recovery time has been accelerated in several key areas commonly needing biochemical repair when treating alcoholics and drug addicts. Offering explanations to expound on the mechanism(s) of action occurring in these events is difficult since we are treading close to the very force that animates life itself into that collection of chemicals we call the human body.
What can be said about CES, at least from the standpoint of HRC’s work with orthomolecular medicine is that energetic healing forces appear to be accelerated in several key areas:
- The clearing of toxic chemicals
- Preemptive biochemical actions in the brain. (Reloading neurotransmitters.)
- Resetting and normalizing neuro-chemical processes in the brain (Firing of neurotransmitters).
Another way of conceptualizing CES as an addictions treatment tool is to consider addictive substances themselves from a vibrational viewpoint. Different drugs alter the brain and cause different effects by mimicking particular substances normally present in the brain; or, by stimulating a release of the brain’s own endogenous substances. These substances, whether classified as natural chemicals (neurotransmitters, hormones, endorphins…) or artificial chemicals (benzodiazepines, cocaine, opiates…) act on the brain by triggering electrical events in neurons.
In The Synaptic Self, author Joseph LeDoux states, “In essence, our brains are alive with chemicals oozing and sparks flying.” LeDoux points out the full sequence of communication between brain cells is usually electrical-chemical; electrical signals come down neuronal axons convert into chemical messages (neurotransmitters) that help trigger electrical signals in the next brain cell. But what if stimulating neurons with an exogenous substance, a drug, interrupts that cycle; it can be argued drugs are addictive because of the changes they initiate in the electrical body as much as in the chemical one.
In fact, the whole basis for vibrational medicine is founded on the premise that energetic healing systems actually initiate healing and maintain health; chemicals are a roundabout way of accessing those systems. If true, then CES is a step in the right direction to further the advancement of our understanding of medicine by directly influencing healing paths with energy.
Dr. Meg Patterson devoted a great portion of her life determining which electrical frequencies correspond to different drugs. Although she conducted experiments involving lab animals to study how brain tissue was altered by frequencies, she also relied on trial and error reports from frequency sensitive people (musicians) to help her zero in on matches.
I have noted that different addictions do seem to respond to specific frequencies. In particular, those who enter our program with a history of cocaine or methamphetamine abuse seem to favor higher frequencies. A personal unit I have used with clients many times, offers multiple frequency settings between
80Hz – 999.9Hz and brain state settings from .2Hz, delta – 60Hz, Gamma, as well as duty cycle settings from 5%-50%. It is not a part of the HRC program. Clients who have addictions to more “exotic” drugs and are interested in experiencing sensations from other frequencies are allowed to use it, at no cost.
Dr. Patterson recognized specific ranges of frequencies do indeed match specific substances. If the treatment industry can get past the idea of addicts being pathological deviants who are morally bankrupt and need a psychological attitude adjustment, and start seeing alcohol/drug use as an attempt to compensate for biochemical imbalances which are connected to bio-electrical frequencies, perhaps the idea of correcting chemical imbalances with pure energy will come to be embraced as a 21st century standard treatment protocol.
You would think such a promising scientific discovery would be allowed to take off. After many decades, strict limits are still being imposed on the technology. Only a few frequencies have been FDA approved and may be legally used to treat the problems associated with addictions.
Among them the 100 Hz frequency is well suited to address alcoholism. Fortunately most clients entering our program have alcoholism as their primary or a secondary addiction problem.
In addition the HealthPax unit we use is based on a square wave, significant because it possesses harmonic qualities within the 100 Hz frequency. In other words other frequencies harmonize with the 100 Hz at the same time, giving the brain more choices to draw from.
The bumper sticker said, “If you ain’t mad, you’re not paying attention.” To that I would reply, “If you’re paying attention, you’ll want to enjoy the calming benefits of CES in your life too!”